Seeing that we have been rooted in Christ, we must take time to enjoy the Lord as the all-inclusive land so that the elements of Christ as the rich soil may be absorbed into us – as we are absorbing Christ – for us to be made full in our experience. Amen!
It all starts with and it all depends upon our seeing; if we see that we have been rooted into Christ as the rich soil, the all-inclusive land, we will choose to spend time with the Lord again and again so that we may send tender, fresh, new roots into Him and absorb Him.
Colossians chapter two is quite an amazing chapter, beginning with Paul’s struggle for all the saints that their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love and unto all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, unto the full knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ.
He was concerned that the saints would not be deluded by some who have persuasive speech, but rather, they would stand on the solid basis of their faith in Christ. We all need to take heed and realize that we, who have received Christ Jesus as Lord, we can walk in Him, having been rooted and being built up in Him (Col. 2:6-7).
On one hand we have received the Christ, Jesus the Lord, so we can walk in Him, and on the other hand we have been rooted in Him, so we need to draw all the rich nutrients from Him for us to be built up in Him, being established in the faith even as we were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
Amen, brothers and sisters, may no one carry us off as spoil through his philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ (v. 8).
Especially today with the world around us and with the “supermarket of churches” in Christianity, with all kinds of philosophies that sound good (but are not really found in the Word) and are traditional (but are not based on God’s word) and are according to the elements of the world (but not according to Christ), we need to beware!
We need to beware that no one carry us off as spoil, that is, that no one would uproot us from the rich soil, from Christ as our all-inclusive land!
The enemy wants to use all kinds of things to uproot us from Christ; he may use philosophies, culture, the elements of the world, and the tradition of men, so that we would not send roots deep down in Christ but we would be distracted from Him….
But oh, what a Christ! What a rich Christ we have as our all-inclusive land into whom we’re rooted!
Seeing, Appreciating, and Absorbing the rich Christ into whom we’re Rooted, as seen Col. 2:8-15
In Col. 2:8-15 we see so many rich, practical, and wonderful aspects of the all-inclusive Christ who is our supply as we send roots deep down in Him!
The Christ into whom we’re rooted is the One in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (v. 9), and we have been made full in Him (v. 10).
When we send roots deep down into this rich Christ in our time with Him and by simply saying Amen to His inner speaking, we absorb into our being something of His fullness, and in Him we are made full!
This One whom we absorb is the Head of all rule and authority; in Him is both authority and the proper submission to authority, so when we spend time with Him, we both have His authority and we submit to His authority.
We were rooted into Christ, and in Him we were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ (v. 11).
When we are in Christ, absorbing His riches, we absorb His death; we are circumcised in spirit, the flesh is put aside, the old man is terminated, and the self is denied. Hallelujah, the real killing of the cross is in Christ, the rich soil into whom we’re rooted!
Even more, when we are absorbing Christ, we are buried together with Him, and we are also raised together with Him through the faith of the operation of God (v. 12).
On one hand we are put to death and buried, and everything of the old man and the flesh is in the grave; on the other had we are raised with Him and even made alive together with Him (v. 13), for we now live in newness of life and serve Him in newness of spirit!
Hallelujah, when we exercise our spirit and have a turned heart to the Lord in our personal touch with Him, anything negative in us is put to death, and our inner being is resurrected, vivified, and filled with life!
Even more, as we enjoy Christ, all the ordinances that we may have or we may come up with, all the things that we set up as a practice and separates us from others, all these are wiped away, nailed to the cross, and we are made one in Christ (v. 14)! Hallelujah!
What a rich and all-encompassing Christ we have – He is both all-inclusive and extensive, and we are rooted and grounded in Him to absorb His riches and become His corporate expression!
In this rich soil into whom we’re rooted we have the stripping off of the rulers and the authorities, over whom Christ triumphed through the cross and made a display of them openly (v. 15). Wow!
There’s an element in the rich soil that is victorious over the evil spirits in the atmosphere.
Many times we realize that, though we want to do the good, there’s something overpowering us to do the evil, and even more, there’s something evil surrounding us, something dark in the atmosphere, something that we cannot overcome but rather it defeats us.
But praise the Lord, as we spend time with the Lord and enjoy Him, there’s an element that we absorb into our being that causes us to spontaneously defeat the powers of darkness!
Both believers and unbelievers experience something oppressing, an evil atmosphere…but by absorbing Christ, in Him there’s some riches that energize us and equip us to strip off all these rulers and authorities and have a normal daily living, standing for the Lord!
Hallelujah, victory is in the soil! And we can be those absorbing Christ as such a One!
Lord Jesus, we want to see, appreciate, and take time to absorb Christ as the rich soil into whom we’re rooted. Hallelujah, we were rooted into the all-inclusive Christ as the reality of the good land, and we can absorb all His riches! Oh, in this soil into whom we’re rooted is all the fullness of the Godhead, the Head of all rule and authority, the killing power which puts the flesh to death, the element causing us to be buried and raised up, the life-giving element that vivifies us, the wiping out of the handwriting in ordinances, and the victory over the evil spirits in the atmosphere! Amen, hallelujah, everything we need is in the rich Christ as the soil into whom we’re rooted!
Enjoying and Absorbing Christ as the All-inclusive Land and be Made Full in Experience
When the Lord shows us the rich, all-inclusive, extensive Christ as the soil into whom we’re rooted, we will realize that we must take time to enjoy Him as such an all-inclusive land.
We need to take time to enjoy Him so that all the elements of Christ as the rich soil may be absorbed into us for us to be made full in our experience (Col. 2:10; 4:2).
How can we absorb Christ? If we would absorb the riches of Christ as the soil, we need to have tender, new roots (see 2 Cor. 4:16); it is these tender and new roots that do the absorbing of all the riches.
May we ask the Lord to never let our roots get old. It is the hair roots of a tree or a plant that do the absorbing; similarly, we need to spend much time with the Lord to absorb Him in a fine, delicate, and tender way.
Many times we may have a time with the Lord in the morning, but we lack the experience of being made full; why does it seem that, even though we spend time with the Lord, we are not absorbing Christ?
One problem may be that our time with the Lord is rushed or short; we may open the word or read the morning revival, and we don’t focus on the Lord but on “having a time in the Word”, and we rush our time in the morning.
Sometimes in the morning the Lord may give us a song, but we ignore it and “do our own thing”, that is, do a practice of reading the Bible for example.
Many times the Lord calls us to fellowship with Him and linger in His presence, but we are constrained by time, and we rush our time with Him.
Real absorbing takes time; many times in our time with the Lord we’re so cluttered with things that in 10-15 minutes we barely manage to unload all our things and open to Him…because our mind is so full of other things related to our situation, our condition, the people around us…
Today our society is going in this direction, with the advancement of technology and so much stimulus – the direction of always seeking a stimulus and not being able to focus for a period of time, even to be quiet.
Many times we need to learn to be quiet before the Lord so that He may speak to us; this doesn’t mean that we are passive or that we don’t call on Him, but that we are opening to Him, calling on His name, being available to Him, and not rushing our time with Him until He speaks to us.
We need time to assimilate the Lord, linger in His presence.
May we all have the grace to take the time to be with the Lord and linger in His presence; we may need to adjust our schedule so that we’re not pressed by time, for only when we are in His word in His presence do we actually absorb Him…
We need to exercise both our heart and our spirit, making sure our heart is unveiled and turned to the Lord, and our spirit is clean, open, and adjusted to receive the nourishment for that day.
May we even learn to forget about our situation and our condition, our failures and our weaknesses, and simply take time to absorb the Lord!
As we pay the price to be those absorbing Christ, we grow with the growth of God in us for the building up of the Body of Christ (Luke 8:13; Matt. 14:22-23; 6:6; Col. 2:7, 19).
Lord Jesus, we want to forget about our situation, our condition, our failures, and our weaknesses, and simply take time to absorb the Lord! We want our consecration to be fresh. We open to You anew. May our roots be tender so that we may absorb Your riches. Lord, don’t let our roots get old. We want to linger in Your presence and do not rush our time with You. Amen, Lord, we seek Your face and we treasure to be in Your presence. We turn our heart to You and we exercise our spirit to be with You, listen to You, and absorb Christ with all His riches so that we may grow with the growth of God in us for the building up of the Body of Christ!
Read this article in the Romanian language / citiți acest articol și în limba română la următorul link, Să-L savurăm și să-L absorbim pe Cristos ca țară bună atotinclusivă în care suntem înrădăcinați.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. Ricky Acosta for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Colossians, msgs. 47-48, 55 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Knowing and Experiencing the All-inclusive, Extensive Christ (2019 Thanksgiving Conference), week 2 on the topic of, Knowing and Experiencing the All-inclusive, Extensive Christ as the Good Land — Our Allotted Portion.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Take time to absorb Him, to gain the supply, / That we may be watered and nourished thereby; / The deeper the roots spread, the deeper the flow, / And richer and higher within us He’ll grow. (Song on, Take time to absorb Him)
– Take time to behold Him, / The world rushes on; / Spend much time in secret / With Jesus alone. / By looking to Jesus / Like Him thou shalt be; / Thy friends, in thy conduct, / His likeness shall see. (Hymns #643)
– The universal Fullness / So pleased resides in Thee. / Within Thee dwells the Godhead, / And Thou, Lord, dwell in me! / Preeminent, transcendent, / Unique in all Thou art, / O’erflowing all the heavens, / Thou now dost fill my heart! (Song on, Christ in Colossians)
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